2006 United States House of Representatives elections in New Hampshire

none February 2026 April 2023 2006 United States House of Representatives elections in New Hampshire New Hampshire legislative no 2004 United States House of Representatives elections in New Hampshire 2004 2008 United States House of Representatives elections in New Hampshire 2008 All 2 New Hampshire seats to the United States House of Representatives November 7, 2006 Democratic Party (United States) 0 2 2 209,434 52.01% 14.64% Republican Party (United States) 2 0 2 189,615 47.09% 13.69% x245px District results x245px County results x245px Municipality results Democratic #B9D7FF 40–50% #86b6f2 50–60% #4389e3 60–70% #1666cb 70–80% #002b84 90–100% Republican #F2B3BE 40–50% #e27f90 50–60% #cc2f4a 60–70% Tie #AE8BB1 50% The 2006 House of Representatives elections in New Hampshire took place on November 7, 2006, to determine who would represent the state of New Hampshire in the United States House of Representatives during the 110th Congress from January 3, 2007, until January 3, 2009. New Hampshire had historically been a stronghold of the Republican Party. Both congressional seats were held by Republicans going into the election, in addition to most state and local offices. However, New Hampshire gave its four electoral votes to John Kerry in 2004 and to Bill Clinton in 1992 and 1996. Democratic governor John Lynch, who defeated incumbent Republican governor Craig Benson in 2004, was widely popular, and defeated his Republican opponent, Jim Coburn, in the simultaneous 2006 gubernatorial election. As a result, New Hampshire is commonly classified by the media as a tossup or battleground state in many federal elections. In this particular election, Democrats were not initially expected to unseat either of the Republican incumbents, Jeb Bradley (NH-1) and Charlie Bass (NH-2). However, first district Democratic candidate Carol Shea-Porter and second district Democratic candidate Paul Hodes raised significant funds and ran more aggressive campaigns than Democrats had in years past. In a surprising upset, both Bass and Bradley were unseated by Hodes and Shea-Porter respectively on election day. This was the first time Democrats had held both New Hampshire House seats since 1915. Overview United States House of Representatives elections in New Hampshire, 2006Clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives Clerk of the United States House of Representatives Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 7, 2006 https://clerk.house.gov/member_info/electionInfo/2006election.pdf 25 & 26PartyVotesPercentageSeats+/– Democratic 209,434 52.01% 2 +2 Republican 189,615 47.09% 0 -2 Libertarian 3,305 0.82% 0 - Others 315 0.08% 0 - Totals 402,669 100.00% 2 - District 1 right|thumb|100px|Defeated Republican incumbent Jeb Bradley. left|thumb|100px|Democratic Candidate Carol Shea-Porter. Incumbent Jeb Bradley won reelection in 2004 with 63% of the vote. Bradley was a fiscal conservative who supported reductions in taxes and spending. In 2004, this was the only congressional district in New England that President Bush carried. In a surprise upset victory in the Democratic primary, Rochester Democratic chair Carol Shea-Porter defeated the better funded and party-favored state House Democratic Leader Jim Craig, getting 54% of the vote to Craig's 34%. Shea-Porter supported a single-payer healthcare program and increased federal funding for education. Unlike her opponent, she disagreed with President Bush on foreign policy issues and the War in Iraq. Polls conducted over the course of the campaign showed Bradley in mid-September holding a 25% lead over Shea-Porter. The trend over the next six weeks, however, showed that lead shrinking.http://www.electoral-vote.com/evp2006/Info/house_polls.html https://web.archive.org/web/20130302092740/http://www.electoral-vote.com/evp2006/Info/house_polls.html 2013-03-02 Electoral-Vote.com Complete List of House Polls Just prior to election day Bradley was favored over Shea-Porter by just 5%, within the 5% margin of error.http://concordmonitor.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061103/REPOSITORY/611030391&SearchID=73262327323571 https://web.archive.org/web/20160303174024/http://www.concordmonitor.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=%2F20061103%2FREPOSITORY%2F611030391&SearchID=73262327323571 2016-03-03 Concord Monitor November 3, 2006, UNH poll Despite those polling trends, and the shift toward Democratic candidates seen nationwide in 2006, Shea-Porter's victory over Bradley was described by many as "surprising" and an "upset." https://web.archive.org/web/20160303200331/http://www.concordmonitor.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=%2F20061109%2FREPOSITORY%2F611090355 2016-03-03 Concord Monitor November 11, 2006, "How Shea-Porter pulled off upset" When the votes were counted, Shea-Porter was declared victorious with 51% of the vote to Bradley's 49%. Candidates Republican: Jeb Bradley - Incumbent Democratic: Carol Shea-Porter Libertarian: Dan Belforti Endorsements Carol Shea-Porter (D) ;Individuals Wesley Clark, General, 2004 democratic presidential candidatehttp://securingamerica.com/node/1559 Carol Shea-Porter (NH-1) | WesPAC 4 November 2006 https://web.archive.org/web/20061104123234/http://securingamerica.com/node/1559 8 April 2023 November 4, 2006 Predictions SourceRankingAs of The Cook Political Report2006 Competitive House Race Chart http://cookpolitical.com/house/charts/race-ratings House: Race Ratings Cook Political Report 6 November 2006 20 November 2023 https://web.archive.org/web/20070927210001/http://www.cookpolitical.com/races/report_pdfs/2006_house_comp_nov6.pdf 27 September 2007Likely R November 6, 2006 Rothenberg2006 House Ratings http://rothenbergpoliticalreport.com/ratings/house House Ratings The Rothenberg Political Report 6 November 2006 20 November 2023 https://web.archive.org/web/20061107153417/http://rothenbergpoliticalreport.blogspot.com/2006/11/2006-house-ratings_06.html 7 November 2006Safe R November 6, 2006 Sabato's Crystal Ball2006 House http://www.centerforpolitics.org/crystalball/2006/house/ Sabato's Crystal Ball 6 November 2006 20 November 2023 https://web.archive.org/web/20061110210331/http://www.centerforpolitics.org:80/crystalball/2006/house/ 10 November 2006Likely R November 6, 2006 Real Clear PoliticsBattle for the House of Representatives http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/writeup/battle_for_the_house_of_representatives-51.html realclearpolitics.com Real Clear Politics 12 December 2023 https://web.archive.org/web/20061109025111/http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/writeup/battle_for_the_house_of_representatives-51.html 9 November 2006 7 November 2006Safe R November 7, 2006 CQ PoliticsBalance of Power Scorecard: House http://www.cqpolitics.com/risk_rating_house.html cqpolitics.com Congressional Quarterly Inc 20 November 2023 https://web.archive.org/web/20061117202830/http://www.cqpolitics.com/risk_rating_house.html 17 November 2006Likely R November 7, 2006 Results New Hampshire congressional elections, District 1 Democratic Party (US) Carol Shea-Porter 100,691 51.27% Republican Party (US) Jeb Bradley (incumbent) 95,527 48.64% Other N/A 159 0.08% Democratic Party (US) Republican Party (US) District 2 2006 New Hampshire's 2nd congressional district election New Hampshire presidential no 2004 United States House of Representatives elections in New Hampshire#District 2 2004 2008 United States House of Representatives elections in New Hampshire#District 2 2008 x150px File:Congressman Paul Hodes.JPG Paul Hodes Democratic Party (United States) 108,743 52.7% Charles Bass.jpg Charles Bass Republican Party (United States) 94,088 45.6% 2006 NH-02 election results.svg 240px Municipality results Hodes: #b4c7ec 40–50% #8da9e2 50–60% #678cd7 60–70% #4170cd 70–80% #244079 >90% Bass: #f1b4b2 40–50% #ed8783 50–60% #e55651 60–70% No Votes: #808080 U.S. Representative Charles Bass Republican Party (United States) Paul Hodes Democratic Party (United States) Incumbent Charles Bass (R) won reelection in 2004 with 58% percent of the vote, even as his district was won by John Kerry 52% to 47%. Bass was, like his colleague Bradley, a self-described political moderate and fiscal conservative. Bass also embraced environmentalism and pro-choice politics. Bass easily defeated primary challenges from Berlin Mayor Bob Danderson and 9/11 critic and constitutionalist Mary Maxwell. The Democratic nominee was 2004 challenger Paul Hodes, an attorney. Hodes is a strong critic of the Bush administration, supporting issues such as universal healthcare, deficit reduction, raising the minimum wage, and an immediate withdrawal of National Guard and Reserve troops from Iraq. In late September, a top Bass staffer resigned after news broke that a US Government computer from Bass's DC office had been posting anonymous concern troll messages to NH blogs. In these messages, "IndyNH" claimed to be a supporter of Paul Hodes who was discouraged by Bass's unbeatable lead and urged other Hodes supporters to turn their efforts to other, more winnable races.http://www.concordmonitor.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060926/REPOSITORY/609260344/1219/48HOURS https://web.archive.org/web/20070312100830/http://www.concordmonitor.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=%2F20060926%2FREPOSITORY%2F609260344%2F1219%2F48HOURS 2007-03-12 The Concord Monitor. The Bass-Hodes matchup was considered more competitive than that of Bradley and Shea-Porter, since voters in the 2nd district had sided with the Republican Party less consistently in recent years. Additionally, Hodes raised more campaign funds than the incumbent. Therefore, the 2006 election was expected to be a great deal closer than Bass's easy win in 2004.Rehmann Marc Hodes Getting Closer to Catching GOP's Bass in N.H. 2 - New York Times https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/cq/2006/10/20/cq_1669.html 2022-09-09 archive.nytimes.com Initially, Bass maintained early leads over Hodes in most non-partisan polls, ranging from just 7-points in one poll to 27-points in another. However, as the election drew nearer, polls indicated either a slight Hodes lead or a tossup.Election 2006: Senate and House Races Updated Daily https://electoral-vote.com/evp2006/Maps/Oct23.html 2022-09-09 electoral-vote.comboston.com Boston Globe Article, Nov. 2, 2006 Just before election day, Hodes pulled in front of Bass in several polls.http://www.seacoastonline.com/news/11072006/nhnews-ph-por-unh.mur.poll.html http://webarchive.loc.gov/all/20080812220247/http://www.seacoastonline.com/news/11072006/nhnews-ph-por-unh.mur.poll.html 2008-08-12 The Portsmouth (NH) Herald. On election day at 10:30pm, Charlie Bass conceded defeat to Paul Hodes, who garnered 53% of the vote as opposed to 45% for Bass. Bass later reclaimed this seat in 2010 and lost re-election again in 2012.Livingston Abby 2012-11-06 New Hampshire: Ann McLane Kuster Defeats Charles Bass https://rollcall.com/2012/11/06/new-hampshire-ann-mclane-kuster-defeats-charles-bass/ 2026-04-25 Roll Call en-USSabato Larry J. 2010-11-11 2010 By the Numbers https://centerforpolitics.org/crystalball/ljs2010111102/ 2026-04-25 Sabato's Crystal Ball en-US Candidates Republican: Charlie Bass - Incumbent Democratic: Paul Hodes Libertarian: Ken Blevens Endorsements Paul Hodes (D) ;Individuals Wesley Clark, General, 2004 democratic presidential candidatehttp://securingamerica.com/node/1845 Paul Hodes (NH-02) | WesPAC 4 November 2006 https://web.archive.org/web/20061104123314/http://securingamerica.com/node/1845 8 April 2023 November 4, 2006 Predictions SourceRankingAs of The Cook Political ReportTossup November 6, 2006 RothenbergTilt D flip November 6, 2006 Sabato's Crystal BallTilt D flip November 6, 2006 Real Clear PoliticsTossup November 7, 2006 CQ PoliticsTossup November 7, 2006 Results New Hampshire congressional elections, District 2 Democratic Party (US) Paul Hodes 108,743 52.71% Republican Party (US) Charlie Bass (incumbent) 94,088 45.61% Libertarian Party (US) Ken Blevens 3,305 1.60% Other N/A 156 0.08% Democratic Party (US) Republican Party (US) References 30em New Hampshire 2006 United States House of Representatives